HoopsCap: Marquette Wins Ugly in Rivalry Win Overtime

Winning ugly is not something that was in Marquette’s reptiore for the last couple of years. They didn’t know how to do it. Partly, their team wasn’t built for ugly. Bad defensive teams have a tough time winning ugly because for a game to be ugly, you need more defense than usual. That didn’t exist for Marquette. This year, it’s been different. They won ugly against Louisville. UTEP wasn’t an easy win and could be deemed a bit ugly, they won that too. Then they beat Wisconsin in the same fashion defeating them in overtime, 74-69. It’s the first time Marquette has won back-to-back games versus the Badgers since 2011 and 2012. (Ed note: This will be a blend of MubbCap and BuckyCap)

Player of the Game (Marquette) – Sam Hauser: This is the way to play on your birthday. Sam Hauser had a great game for Marquette breaking out of his mini-slump that plagued him for the last couple of games. Hauser finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds and four assists. He added two made three-pointers as well. Hauser did everything for the Golden Eagles on Saturday night. He had a very strong, efficient game.

Silver Star (Marquette) – Ed Morrow: The box score might not show up this way for Morrow, but he played such a valuable role in this game. Morrow had a huge block on Ethan Happ late in the game to preserve the tie game. He came out of nowhere to make the play. Morrow also added two big free throws in the overtime period to finally put the game on ice for the Golden Eagles after everyone got a little tight. He’s the type of player Marquette had been lacking for years.

Player of the Game (Wisconsin) – Ethan Happ: What a game for the senior in his last Marquette-Wisconsin rivalry. Happ finishes with a career-high 34 points, eleven rebounds, four assists and three steals. That’s a full stat line. Happ did everything in his power to win the game for Wisconsin. And Marquette didn’t play bad defense against him, Happ just continued to find ways to score the ball.

Silver Star: Nate Reuvers (Wisconsin) – Happ was the only one doing much for Wisconsin but Reuvers showed some good signs of strong play on Saturday night. He had a couple big shots for the team from deep. Reuvers is going to be a good one for the Badgers. He needs to be a little more physical to blend with his deep shooting and he’ll really have something.

Positive (Marquette) – Bad Markus game still resulted in a win: One of my bigger frustrations with the Golden Eagles was the tribute to Andrew Rowsey by Howard. He had too many hero ball moments for the team. This squad does not need him to do that. The fact Howard shot the ball 29 times is fucking absurd. But Marquette figured out a way to win without him being at his best game. That’s very important. It hasn’t happened often during Howard’s tenure at Marquette.

Positive (Wisconsin) – Shut down the three-point line: Badgers did a good job of keeping Marquette in check from deep. They didn’t get a lot of open looks and only made 33 percent from their three-point attempts. They made Marquette beat them with baskets inside the arc, and it nearly worked to perfection.

Negative (Marquette/Wisconsin) – Free throws: This is for both teams. The free throws were atrocious. Wisconsin missed eleven free throws. Marquette missed 12. Both teams could have won this game in regulation with better free throw shooting. Marquette could have put away Bucky long before the final minute in overtime if they made a couple free throws. Can’t have that.

Next up: (Marquette/Wisconsin) – For the Golden Eagles, they’ll get a week off for finals before taking on North Dakota on the 18th of December. Golden Eagles cannot let down after this big win. North Dakota is .500 on the year, but they’re nothing special. For Wisconsin, they play Savannah State at home on Thursday night. Savannah State loves to put points up, so, it’ll be an interesting test for the Badgers.